The Shadow Proves the Sunshine
by ColleenJoy
Summary: What happens after Chloe, Lana and Kara rescue Clark. Written before I saw "Traveler" so now it's AU. A story that came to me after watching “Wrath” and reading the episode description of “Traveler” My title is from a song by Switchfoot.


**Summary:** What happens after Chloe, Lana and Kara rescue Clark from Pierce, a man who is afraid of aliens and holds Clark prisoner? (Spoilers for "Traveler")

**AN:** A story that came to me after watching "Wrath" and reading the episode description for "Traveler". Oh, and the title is from a song by "**Switchfoot**".

I don't own Smallville or any copyrights but in an alternate universe Clark is mine.

**The Shadow Proves the Sunshine by ColleenJoy**

Reaching forward with a trembling hand Chloe smoothed the damp hair off his forehead. She couldn't help it. He was in such pain, moaning, his jaw clenched, she had to offer her gentle touch. "Clark?" she said softly, her voice breaking a little.

"Lana?" he said and his eyes flickered but didn't open. Oh boy, was that déjà vu all over again. This time it didn't hurt quite as bad. She had no illusions about how he felt about her. Lana should have been the one by his side. How could you profess to love someone and be unable to summon up the courage to stay by them when they're in pain? Lana should be here helping him, Chloe thought, God knows he's always been there for her. Then Clark barely managed to add in a whisper "Is she okay?" and Chloe had to push down the feeling of hot rage that welled up inside, rage at Lana for making him worry.

"Lana is fine Clark, just rest." she answered firmly.

Clark's eyes fluttered again and this time he got them open for a moment. He struggled to focus and then the barest hint of a smile appeared on his face. "Chloe." And he sighed and let his eyes drift shut again. Chloe had to swallow hard past the lump in her throat. All he had said was her name but the way he had said it was "Thank God you're here. Now I know I'll be okay." The trust and confidence in his voice as he said her name brought tears to her eyes. When had she come to mean so much to him?

"You mean more to me than you know" he had said. Was this what he meant? Okay so she wasn't the love of his life, and she would never be the girl of his dreams, she had let that go a long time ago and chosen friendship instead of heartbreak. She was his friend. The word seemed so inadequate when it was held up against the tone in his voice and the look in his eyes when he said her name.

Clark made a sound of pain in his throat and she winced. Looking at his face Chloe could see his jaw clench as he fought a loosing battle not to cry out in his agony. There had to be Kryptonite somewhere, she thought.

Kara hadn't been able to see it, she said her vision didn't work near him, but she had felt it. Hence the reason she had left the room so quickly after setting him down. Just being near him made her tremble and grow sick. Chloe wondered at the strength of will it had taken for Kara to help carry him to his bed before she reluctantly moved away.

A sound at the door made Chloe turn, Kara was back and had brought her some things to make Clark more comfortable. Shifting her feet nervously she stood at the door and waited for Chloe to come get them.

"Lana made soup." She said, her voice showing her disappointment in the woman Clark loved as she held out the bowl of broth. "I brought some bottled water and a washcloth with some ice water to rinse it in." she looked at Clark and bit her lip as he gasped for breath and clenched his fists, fighting the pain. "I know when I was exposed to Kryptonite I felt like I was on fire. Maybe this will help." She handed Chloe the things and headed downstairs, looking back over her shoulder at the person who had become her family and blinking away tears.

"Clark, Clark?" Chloe tried to get his attention, "I'm going to help you sit up a little, let me know if it hurts you, okay?" she saw the barest hint of a nod and began. Inserting her arms behind his shoulders, Chloe used all the strength she possessed to lift her friend.

Clark tried to help but she could feel how weak he was and saw the sweat cover his brow from even that small exertion. Stuffing pillows quickly behind his back she decided this was high enough. He wasn't completely upright but he was propped up enough to swallow without choking. His eyes opened again and he looked hard at her. Was that fear in his eyes? She wondered.

"Chlo…" he coughed, a racking cough that shook his whole body.

"Shhh, don't try to talk." She said, giving him a drink of water. He was so weak she had to hold the bottle to his mouth and dole it out in sips so he wouldn't choke.

Clark swallowed and looked pleadingly into her eyes. His own were watering from the cough and looked glazed from the pain. "Chloe, promise me." He managed to get out before coughing again. Dear God what did he need? She'd promise him the moon if it would make him feel better. "Promise…you won't heal me." He gasped and Chloe froze. Oh, that. Well damn. Clark tried to grab her arm but the grip was so weak his hand fell back on the couch. The meaning was clear however.

Chloe had almost tried to heal him back at the Facility when they had found him in an unconscious heap on the cement floor but there had been no time. Now the sight of him struggling for every breath and trembling in pain filled her with worry and fear. She had just been screwing up her courage to try healing him when he spoke. How had he known? She looked into his eyes. Damn him he always knew her so well. He struggled to speak again and she winced at how much it cost him. "Promise." He said more forcefully. Chloe frowned. "Chloe…"He said insistently. Chloe sighed. She didn't like this one bit but he wasn't going to let it go.

"Fine, I promise." She said, but if you start to die on me all bets are off, she thought to herself, promise or no promise. "and you have to promise to get well." Clark smiled. It wasn't much of a smile but it was a start. "Yes." he nodded. And then his eyes fell shut and didn't open again as he sank into the cushions, limp and exhausted.

Chloe watched him breathe. She was afraid if she looked away he would stop. His breaths were so far apart that he kept her in suspense sometimes waiting for the next one. How had he come to be so sick? Chloe wondered, and why wasn't he getting better now? What had that monster Pierce done to him? It had to be Kryptonite. Chloe looked Clark over and realized they hadn't really had a chance to check him for injuries. Stroking his chest and talking to him so he would know what she was doing, she unbuttoned his shirt.

"Okay Clark, we are both adults here and although you're mom is coming as fast as she can from Washington I don't think you can wait for her to get here if there is Kryptonite on you somewhere." She kept up a nervous chatter as she opened his shirt and checked his chest and stomach for wounds. Then she touched his wrist to unbutton his sleeve and Clark flinched and cried out. Chloe's eyes grew wide when she felt the sticky wetness there and looked at her fingers to see blood. "Oh, my God," she murmured, as she very gently unbuttoned the sleeve to expose a wrist that was ringed with cuts, scraped, bruised and swollen. It was strange to see Clark bleeding and it made Chloe feel faint for a moment. Then she saw the shards of Kryptonite in his skin. They were so small she would never have noticed them in the bloody mess if they had not been glowing.

Trying to be gentle even in her haste Chloe quickly opened his other sleeve to find the same thing. Kara had told them about the special Kryptonite handcuffs the government agent had used on her. Chloe and Lana had expected to find the same on Clark when they got him out of the facility but had been surprised to find him free, although unconscious. This explained a lot, Chloe thought. Now she knew why he had been in the hall, rather than the room they had found on the plans. Of course Clark had tried to escape, and he had almost succeeded, if it weren't for the Kryptonite.

"You must hate this stuff so much." said Chloe, sympathetically stating the obvious. Now how was she going to get it out of his skin? "Well, it's probably going to hurt like blazes to pick all this out so it's a good thing you're unconscious." She said to him as she stood up to go find tweezers and the ever present lead box the Kents always had. She felt his hand touch hers and looked down to see him looking back at her. "Or not," she said sadly.

"Don't leave me." He rasped, the look in his eyes breaking her heart.

"Clark, you have Kryptonite in your skin, I have to get something to get it out with. I'll be right back. I promise." Chloe said, gently squeezing his fingers. "Concentrate on breathing while I'm gone, okay?" she said in a nervous teasing tone. God, that was so not funny Sullivan, she thought, looking at him.

Clark closed his eyes again, "Okay…" he whispered.

Chloe rushed from the room and got the tweezers from the bathroom. Then she hurried downstairs for the lead box that she remembered seeing in the kitchen drawer. Rushing into the kitchen she found Lana, sitting at the table with her head in her hands, tears streaming down her face and Kara, pacing and muttering what sounded like swear words in Kryptonian.

"Lana, I could really use your help up there." Chloe snapped. Normally the sight of her friend so miserable would move her to pity but all her attention was focused on Clark right now, she had nothing but frustration left for Lana.

Lana looked up at her and blinked rapidly, surprised at the anger in her tone. "I can't Chloe; I can't bear to see him like this. I watched him die once, I can't do it again." and she sobbed and buried her face back in her hands.

"Who says he's dying? He's not going to die!" It chilled Chloe to even hear the words, like it would make it come true somehow. "I don't have time for this. I'm going to go help Clark. It's going to hurt and he could use some distraction, if you can't help then pray or something but don't mourn him yet. He's not dead." And Chloe stormed back up the stairs muttering under her breath.

Coming back into the room she nearly dropped everything when she saw Clark. He was no longer struggling against the pain, his face was peaceful, body sprawling limply on his bed, fists open, and his skin had a grey tinge that sent a shiver down her spine. As she stared she realized his chest was moving under shallow breaths and she sagged against the door frame in relief.

"Well, I did say it would be easier if he were unconscious." she mumbled to herself, "be careful what you wish for." And kneeling next to the bed she pulled his wrist close, peering at it with her face inches away. Picking up the tweezers she began to dig the bits of Kryptonite out of his skin as quickly as she could. When she started on it her hands were shaking so hard she almost couldn't grasp the deadly green shards. As she continued to concentrate on her task her nervousness drained away and she finished one wrist, cleaned it off with the water Kara had provided and began on the other.

"Oh God…" Chloe heard a familiar voice at the door to Clark's room. "Chloe he looks awful, you said he wasn't dying!" Lana exclaimed, her eyes huge as she stared at Clark.

"Easy Lana!" exclaimed Chloe, "Try to be quiet. I'd rather he not be awake for what I'm doing here!"

"Sorry, he…he just looks so…" and she stopped, unable to finish the sentence.

"Lana?" Clark said in a whisper, opening his eyes and trying to sit up. He didn't even move on the bed but Chloe could feel his muscles tense.

"Clark, lie down. She'll come to you." Chloe said, giving Lana a look as she hesitated. "Lana, you have to come to him now. Get your butt in that door." And Chloe shifted position so Lana could be near his face while she continued to pick out the cursed stuff in her friend's skin.

Lana approached slowly and knelt down by Clark. Reaching out cautiously she gently cupped his face in her hand. "I'm here Clark." She said quietly.

"Lana," Clark said, and the look he gave her was one of such love and sadness that it made her catch her breath. "What did you do?" he whispered, and Chloe looked up, surprised. What was he talking about?

"I, I had to!" Lana cried out, "Pierce knew your secret! He hurt you; he knew how to hurt you."

"What are you talking about?" asked Chloe, she had a bad feeling about this.

"He was, he was helpless." Clark barely managed to get the words out, his voice catching in a hitch as he held back tears. "Lana, he was unconscious."

"Lana was that shot that Kara and I heard," Chloe paused, she was afraid to ask, "Was that you?" At the facility when Clark wasn't in the cell the girls had split up, Lana had been the one to find Clark and she had called the others. As they were rushing to her the sound of a gunshot had terrified Chloe but finding Clark in such awful condition had driven it out of her mind.

Now that she thought about it she felt she should have known somehow. She should have stopped it. When they were preparing to go into the facility she had felt a chill at the sight of the gun in Lana's hand. Chloe had been carrying a taser and Kara, well Kara didn't need anything, but Lana had a pistol that belonged to Lex and she handled it like she knew what she was doing.

Chloe felt sick, "Oh my God, Lana," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

"He was a monster." said Lana, her voice hard and angry. "He deserved to die!"

Clark stared at her in horror, unable to speak. In many ways this hurt more than when Lionel had told him she was dead. The sweet Lana he had loved was gone and a stranger looked out at him through her eyes.

"I knew you wouldn't kill him. That's why I had to." Lana looked at Clark and seeing his expression her eyes narrowed in anger. "You won't kill anyone, not even Lex. Not even when I made it look like he murdered me! You don't have the guts!"

Clark struggled to stay conscious but the room was spinning and growing dark. He desperately wanted to ask her if she had expected him to kill Lex. Had she planned on that? He didn't want to think about it. He couldn't bear to think about it. He felt confused as the darkness closed in around him and the room seemed to move away. He couldn't hear anything anymore and the pain gradually receded as his body went numb.

Chloe turned on Lana. "That's enough! How can you say that to him? You have no idea the courage it took for him to choose not take another man's life, no matter what. My God! As if letting Lex live was the easy way out!" she turned back to Clark and saw he had lost consciousness again.

"Clark?" Chloe shook him, fear gripping her heart, this time he really wasn't breathing.

Lana stepped back, looking on in terror. Were the last words she ever spoke to Clark going to be the ones she had just spoken in anger? That wasn't what she wanted at all!

Chloe began CPR, thanking her lucky stars she had paid attention in class. As she continued to breathe for him she began to prepare herself to use her ability to heal him. The thought terrified her, who knew what kind of strength it would take for her to heal a Kryptonian? It might kill her, and he would never forgive her for that, she thought wryly. She was determined though; if he didn't breathe on his own soon she was going to try it, no matter what the consequences.

Stopping for a moment to check his response Chloe saw his chest expand as he managed a shallow sobbing breath. He was still unconscious but at least he was breathing again. Oh, thank you God, Chloe thought "Clark, you stay with me now, okay? I'm going to get the rest of the Kryptonite out and you are going to be fine." and then I'm going to deal with Lana, she thought, glancing in her direction.

Lana was shaking with relief, beyond tears as she saw Clark breathe. She caught the look Chloe shot her and felt her temper rise again. How dare they judge me, she thought. I protected them. I did what had to be done. I'm a hero, for crying out loud. They should thank me. She stormed from the room and went back downstairs, startling Kara with her sharp reply when she asked how Clark was.

Chloe finished getting the last bits of Kryptonite out and closed the lead box with a snap. "There." She said, "Clark, it's gone. Is it all gone? Do you feel better?" Chloe watched his face intently and for a while she didn't see a change. Then she washed the blood off of his wrist and she noticed the cuts were disappearing. Looking back up she watched in awe as the color came back into his cheeks, the cuts and bruises disappeared and his breathing became less labored. He was still showing the effects of long exposure to Kryptonite but she could tell he was going to recover.

The emotions that flooded Chloe at the sight of his healing were overwhelming and she dropped her head down on the bed next to him and sobbed.

Clark felt warmth flowing through his muscles, pulsing with his heartbeat. The pain was gone and he was no longer numb, he felt loose and relaxed. The sunlight coming in his window caressed his prone body, bathing him in its life giving rays, filling him with energy and healing him completely at last. The caressing beams beat against his closed eyelids and he opened them to the comforting sight of his own bedroom.

Something heavy and warm was resting against his chest and he glanced down to see Chloe slumped against his body, sleeping. The sunlight sparkled in her hair turning it to dazzling gold and Clark reached out and stroked it gently as he thought of how much she meant to him. I would never have made it without her, he thought, letting the silky strands glide through his fingers.

Chloe slowly opened her eyes, there was sunlight streaming into the room and Clark's hand was stroking her hair. "Hey Clark." she said softly, raising her head and looking into his clear green eyes. A tender smile lit up his face as his hand moved from playing with her hair to smoothing her cheek.

"Hey Chloe." he looked at her tear swollen eyes and pale face with concern, "Are you okay?"

Chloe laughed, "Oh Clark, you really are unbelievable. Only you would practically die and then ask if I'm okay."

The End


End file.
